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Burke class life extensions

In a move to meet the fleet size required for the projected threats in the foreseeable future, the Vice CNO has declared that all Burke class destroyers will remain active for 45 years.

It's easy to keep the ships operating. It's harder to keep them as an effective combat platform. Consider just how much military hardware there is in the current inventory that is 45 years old-- or how much 45 year old stuff there is in your house for that matter. Keeping up with weapons system technology is a moving target. Spruances, Ticonderogas, Perrys, and even the guided missile cruisers that preceeded the Tico's all fell victim to changing technology and threat environment, long before they were anywhere near 45 years old. Having the vertical cell launchers will help to keep them relevant, but who knows what the threats will look like then.

In a move to meet the fleet size required for the projected threats in the foreseeable future, the Vice CNO has declared that all Burke class destroyers will remain active for 45 years.

It's easy to keep the ships operating. It's harder to keep them as an effective combat platform. Consider just how much military hardware there is in the current inventory that is 45 years old-- or how much 45 year old stuff there is in your house for that matter. Keeping up with weapons system technology is a moving target. Spruances, Ticonderogas, Perrys, and even the guided missile cruisers that preceeded the Tico's all fell victim to changing technology and threat environment, long before they were anywhere near 45 years old. Having the vertical cell launchers will help to keep them relevant, but who knows what the threats will look like then.

If you were aboard the ARLEIGH BURKE's when she was commissioned and then visited today, you wouldn't recognize her CIC. The only thing that's still there are the big displays dominating the forward end of the space. The whole thing has been revamped as well as the hardware behind it. It's a constant, and very expensive, process, but the ships are constantly going through upgrades and maintenance availabilities to keep up with the times. There is less stovepiping of systems and they are doing a better job of fusing sensor data into one picture.

Outwardly, they will look very similar but do what our friends and opponents do, look at the antennas and see what has changed, it'll give you an idea what is under the skin.

If you were aboard the ARLEIGH BURKE's when she was commissioned and then visited today, you wouldn't recognize her CIC. The only thing that's still there are the big displays dominating the forward end of the space. The whole thing has been revamped as well as the hardware behind it. It's a constant, and very expensive, process, but the ships are constantly going through upgrades and maintenance availabilities to keep up with the times. There is less stovepiping of systems and they are doing a better job of fusing sensor data into one picture.

Outwardly, they will look very similar but do what our friends and opponents do, look at the antennas and see what has changed, it'll give you an idea what is under the skin.

But as I mentioned, it's very expensive!

I know the system updates are the key to keeping the ships in action. I just wonder how the Burkes are somehow different than the Tico's, being that some of them were less than 20 years old when decomissioned. I know it was for lack of VLS and the cost to install it. More still, the Navy is planning the deactivation of the older ones, that are around maybe 30 years old. While there are plans to modernize the newest ones, no mention is made of making them last for 45 years, although I don't think the capabilities of the platforms are that much different from the Burkes. Maybe one of the experts on here can clarify that?

I'm definitely not an expert, but roughly half the CGs will go through a modernization period which will take about 2 years. Some of this is just a layup to save money, but they will basically gut large portions of the ships, particularly CIC, Radio, etc and replace them with the latest systems. I imagine this overhaul will include a lot of work on the hulls, superstructure, and engines. Some of the older hulls sometimes struggle to pull away from the pier.

The first 4 CG-47s were decommed due to the expense of converting from the 2-armed launchers to VLS.

I believe that the mission difference between the DDG and CGs is that the TICOs are the Air Defense Coordinators for each task group, thus you will rarely see them very far from the carrier. DDGs are always being detached on some independent mission.